This edition of the blog includes a variety of photos from throughout the voyage and at the bottom of the page is the rest of the narrative (should you need some bedtime reading one night)
The Night Watch
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Haul away/Ease away (we're on the haul away side of things!)
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Sunrise on the morning watch.
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Day 5 and time for some fun and photos. A few of us climbed up to the fore top to take in the view and take some photos.
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A close up of us on the fore top - I'm on the far right.
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Under sail and looking up through the shrouds.
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Yes, the water really was this colour.
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Judging by the calmness of the water, this must have been taken while still closer to shore off Fremantle.
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Out along the bowsprit.
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Under sail.
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Looking up at the top sail.
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(continued from previous blog entry)
Jan 8 also included a 04-08hr shift. Much to my embarrassment I missed the wake up call. This was the night of sleep following my 2 hour bout of sea-sickness. As I wrote above, getting into the hammock felt wonderful (we were in bed around 20.30hr) but it was a night of wakefulness, interrupted by some sleep. The ship’s rocking kept us going every which way in our hammocks and while it was a comforting motion it was not conducive to sleep with all the creaking and thumping as water hit the hull and anything loose rolled around on the deck. It was also a chilly night and I spent what felt like a good deal of time awake shivering when I couldn’t get my sleeping bag around me. I sleep just under the foredeck where it meets midships. So I’m sure I didn’t sleep much at all between 20hr and 24hr but I did not hear the watch change at 24hr so must have slept some. Likewise I was up a lot past 1.30 and saw my watch at 2.30. At that point I fell fast asleep and the yardie, woke me at 4.00 after everyone had reported on deck. Oops. In the dark and in my semi fog I took twice as long to get into my safety harness and had it on inside out at one point.
Safety at night: When we come on deck at the start of the watch and then again before we all leave the deck at the end of our watch we meet to number off and confirm everyone is present. We wear high viz jackets and receive a glow stick to attach to our harnesses just in case of going overboard. Everyone on duty stays on the quarter deck to be seen and to be ready to attend to sails, two are on the bow, one on the stern to keep watch. Whenever you leave the deck (day or night) you must notify the Officer of the Watch and check in again upon return. Two people do safety rounds as described earlier and 2 more of the watch are on the helm. The bow watchers only sit as far forward as the cannons midships so as not be out of sight – that plus for the past 2 nights the bow has been awash with spray from the waves and you'd be thoroughly soaked standing up there at the bows. On our watch last night (20-24hr Jan 9) it was a beautiful evening. We saw the sun set on one side of the ship while the moon rose on the other. Another clear sky with next-to-full moon, a stiff wind and a plunging ship meant that despite the clear conditions we were all soaked by the end of the watch by the flying spray.
Even below decks, water is seeping into beds and when I climbed into my hammock after midnight there was wet on the hammock and on my bag. Luckily it isn’t too cold and my body heat seemed to dry it out by morning. The swell and the wind meant another restless night but I seem to have slept through most of it.
I continue to explore the 101 ways to hit your head on a boat and had an opportunity to branch out mid-watch with - how many ways to smack your knee on a boat, as I slipped on the step with the ship bouncing about in the surging waves and caught the top of the life ring with my knee. I had to pause to rub it vigorously and to catch my breath before continuing with the task at hand, which was tightening the spritsails. I did a stint on bow watch (three times perhaps?) and got left there for 90 minutes that was broken up by some further working of braces etc but in the ensuing activity, we were forgotten and left at the bows, and the stern watcher likewise.
Actually on our watch earlier in the afternoon (12.30-16hr) we had been up in the bows and it wasn’t until the first dog watch that they moved the bow lookouts further back to the quarterdeck. The wind and spray had picked up significantly during the afternoon and while I had contemplated climbing the mizzen at 4.00 when off duty with a friend of mine, we thought better of it with all the pitching and rolling the ship was doing. Oh and we got caught a few times by bow waves while on duty and got a little wet. The sun and wind dried us off quickly.
The evening’s excitement took place shortly after 21hr once it was dark. The ship’s alarm went off and went on long enough that a few of the crew moved to muster stations. The engines were over-heating and after a short scurrying about the alarm was turned off and the captain announced over the loud speaker to alert everyone to the situation. The engines were turned off and we began to turn 90 degrees to the port to face the coast of Australia. About 15 minutes later we were underway again and every 30 minutes had to check on the exhaust for a change in smell or a rise in temp around the flashing.
The 4 hours on watch seemed to go by very slowly tonight. The officer of our watch is the 3rd mate on this leg of the trip, who is filling in for the regular 3rd. From here she will be going to PNG to do Bible translation work there. Turns out she is the daughter of a Lutheran pastor. Lutherans in Australia having arrived there from Germany.
Now at this point, I’m losing track of the day on which we watched what, as “this morning” can be 24-04hr time slot and feel like the middle of last night rather than earlier this morning. So all bets are off re time and date and I’ll just have to describe “recent events.”
The meals on board have been fabulous. Over the 7 days we’ve been treated to home made soups, roast pork, lamb chops, steak, grilled snapper, salads, delicious desserts and tasty afternoon snacks at tea time, fresh fruit, and substantial breakfasts. The meals are served on the 20th c deck. A member of each watch assists with galley duty at each meal. Mercifully I was number 1 on the foremast watch so I got to deal with dinner on the first night when we were at anchor, and then lunch on the 5th day once everyone was well past their queasiness of sea sickness.
The steward was a young woman who helped with odd jobs about the place. One of those jobs was taking photos of daily activities and then posting the blog from the ship each evening. You can still find the blog online if you search for HMB Endeavour.
We had the 08-12.30hr watch yesterday (Jan 10) and theoretically had sleep between midnight and 7.30, but alas no. The ship was rolling so much going under engine power that there were leaks dripping on many of us and my hammock was slung too low so instead of rocking with S. in the next hammock we would collide every so often. Our poor topman, A, had 3 distinct drip sites in her berth at her head, knees and feet that kept her up all night.
Sunny with clear blue skies and when we got up on deck we learned that we’d missed seeing the Leeuwin, which had approached at sunrise and sailed past us – just to show off that she was under sail while we had to be under engines.
Breakfast today was listed as Canadian Breakfast. Pancake bacon and maple syrup. The combo of the latter two I learned was just as puzzling to Aussies as Vegemite is to Canucks.
An uneventful watch except that we raised the forward staysail and then furled it again about 90 minutes later. Big waves and sea spray splashing over the decks today so the lecture on sails took place on the quarter deck instead of midships where the morning talk is usually held. We learned how to use a sextant at yesterday’s lecture and I tried my hand at "shooting the sun."
In the afternoon a bunch of us from the foremast watch decided we’d climb up the foremast (photos above). The sea was plunging us about a fair bit on deck and that gets magnified as one heads up the ratlines and over the futtock shrouds. I must admit that from the deck that looks intimidating but once up there it doesn’t seem so bad mainly because they meet at an angle. It’s not like going straight up and then leaning backwards. It’s much easier once up there.
I can’t begin to guess how many hours I’ve actually slept but it is not a lot. The first night I described as sufficient but interrupted. Second night was chilly and shivery and filled with the sounds of people being sick into buckets. Another night was wakefulness interrupted by periods of sleep. Last night I’d describe it as the worst yet and I can only imagine I got a couple of hours prior to midnight (though not in a row) and a couple of hours after midnight. Just as well that I got woken at 3.30 as I was having a string of weird dreams that were mostly variations on a theme of not sleeping at all. Pretty bad when you start dreaming of not being able to sleep. But this does not seem to slow me down. The thrill of being on board keeps me going and I haven’t had a snooze mid day yet.
The colours of the water are quite incredible to see. Closer to the coast it was shades of turquoise, aqua, light green, and deep blue. Further out at sea it was a beautiful cobalt blue and at night the sea’s surface reflected the silvery light of the moon.
Our morning watch began at 04hr where we could still see well by moonlight and enjoy the gradual lighting of the sky. At one point one could look forward and see dawn breaking and then look aft and see dark night sky and the moon still up. The sun rose right over our bows (see photo above) and we set the fore staysail (again) and the air began to warm gradually. I’d managed missing the safety check for 2 or 3 days (though not intentionally) and got a chance to do it twice while on watch this morning. Likewise I haven’t felt very confident on helm when under motor power (it's easier under sail) so have avoided that too but thought I should give it a try. I was on 1 hour last night in the dark and then the last hour of the watch this morning. Much easier by daylight and reckoning with the sun’s location rather than by using the compass only in the twilight before moon or stars emerge.
One particular enduring image is from a few nights ago while we were still under sail. The ship was heeling over to port quite sharply and all 5 people at the helm, 2 helmsmen, topman, yardie and officer were all canted over to the right. The first 2 had the benefit of the wheel to hang on to but the other three with several years of sailing experience, could stand calmly leaning well over to the right, with hands folded behind their backs and not lose their balance.
Jan 11 fairly quiet day, under motor. Did some sorting and tidying of the locker in preparation for packing. Got out the binoculars later and during the morning briefing I spotted a wee bird up on the main course yard arm. A land bird that had been blown out to sea. He stayed with us all day recovering. Breakfast was unique, hash browns, tinned spaghetti on toast, steak, mushrooms, & fruit slices. Very welcome it was too having just come off the 04-08hr watch.
In the afternoon I tried for a snooze for the first time as the lack of sleep catches up. We were on for the 1st dog watch, had dinner and seemed to scramble to get to bed by 7.00 (roast pork, garlic roast potatoes, pumpkin, beans, salads and lime coconut cheese cake).
We were all quite awake so had some hilarious moments getting into our hammocks and then passing around E’s camera to take photos of us in our hammocks.
Tonight S. and I finally got the right way to sling our hammocks worked out. One night we were on the off –roll and kept banging into one another, the next the canvas rubbed annoyingly together and finally on our last night the key was obviously to sling them right beside one another. I slept very soundly, finally. We were woken at 11.30 for our last watch together and man did the night drag on. I ended up sitting on the stern for 2 hours (not a bad thing) as I kept J. company, then I sat there on watch to replace him, then kept Jd company when he was replacing me, then went back on watch right after that. Also did one stint on the bow watch and one stint on the safety check. While on safety check, M. and I paused for a peanut butter and honey sandwich in the galley. Simply spent the last 30 minutes as an idler and 4 of us gravitated to the hot air vent (the 1st time we’ve needed to on watch) just to keep the chill off). Could see the Southern Cross, Scorpio and Orion (albeit upside-down)
The final day was terrific. We were within sight of the land and passed some very picturesque coast. The captain decided that a bit of sail would be in order to make a good display going into the harbour. So on my last morning, I got up the foremast three times. Once to set the foretopsail and twice more to furl the foretopsail and then the fore course. Awesome! It was absolutely fabulous climbing the shrouds and out onto the yards. The safety harness is nice, but really two hands and a certain amount of fear are very reliable! Great view, once aloft, of the sailing boats that were escorting us in and formed a small flotilla behind us.
The cannon was fired as we entered the harbour. It’s a blank charge but has three scrunched up bundles of 4 pages of newspapers inserted into the barrel. The result is a flash, a boom, a cloud of smoke and a pile of confetti that shoots out the muzzle. The whole crew was gathered together to receive a certificate and a map of the route we’d taken.
The final statistics for this voyage are: Total Nautical Miles – 548 nautical miles. Under Sail- 166NM, Under Motor- 382NM. Furthest out from the coast – 100 nautical miles. We took some group shots of our foremast watch team gathered around the helm then brought up our bags from below and headed ashore, with plans to rendezvous later for dinner after we’d all had a chance to have a shower and change. Not that we have any clean clothes left.
An amazing trip and a dream of a lifetime accomplished!
The Night Watch
Haul away/Ease away (we're on the haul away side of things!)
Sunrise on the morning watch.
Day 5 and time for some fun and photos. A few of us climbed up to the fore top to take in the view and take some photos.
A close up of us on the fore top - I'm on the far right.
Under sail and looking up through the shrouds.
Yes, the water really was this colour.
Judging by the calmness of the water, this must have been taken while still closer to shore off Fremantle.
Out along the bowsprit.
Under sail.
Looking up at the top sail.
(continued from previous blog entry)
Jan 8 also included a 04-08hr shift. Much to my embarrassment I missed the wake up call. This was the night of sleep following my 2 hour bout of sea-sickness. As I wrote above, getting into the hammock felt wonderful (we were in bed around 20.30hr) but it was a night of wakefulness, interrupted by some sleep. The ship’s rocking kept us going every which way in our hammocks and while it was a comforting motion it was not conducive to sleep with all the creaking and thumping as water hit the hull and anything loose rolled around on the deck. It was also a chilly night and I spent what felt like a good deal of time awake shivering when I couldn’t get my sleeping bag around me. I sleep just under the foredeck where it meets midships. So I’m sure I didn’t sleep much at all between 20hr and 24hr but I did not hear the watch change at 24hr so must have slept some. Likewise I was up a lot past 1.30 and saw my watch at 2.30. At that point I fell fast asleep and the yardie, woke me at 4.00 after everyone had reported on deck. Oops. In the dark and in my semi fog I took twice as long to get into my safety harness and had it on inside out at one point.
Safety at night: When we come on deck at the start of the watch and then again before we all leave the deck at the end of our watch we meet to number off and confirm everyone is present. We wear high viz jackets and receive a glow stick to attach to our harnesses just in case of going overboard. Everyone on duty stays on the quarter deck to be seen and to be ready to attend to sails, two are on the bow, one on the stern to keep watch. Whenever you leave the deck (day or night) you must notify the Officer of the Watch and check in again upon return. Two people do safety rounds as described earlier and 2 more of the watch are on the helm. The bow watchers only sit as far forward as the cannons midships so as not be out of sight – that plus for the past 2 nights the bow has been awash with spray from the waves and you'd be thoroughly soaked standing up there at the bows. On our watch last night (20-24hr Jan 9) it was a beautiful evening. We saw the sun set on one side of the ship while the moon rose on the other. Another clear sky with next-to-full moon, a stiff wind and a plunging ship meant that despite the clear conditions we were all soaked by the end of the watch by the flying spray.
Even below decks, water is seeping into beds and when I climbed into my hammock after midnight there was wet on the hammock and on my bag. Luckily it isn’t too cold and my body heat seemed to dry it out by morning. The swell and the wind meant another restless night but I seem to have slept through most of it.
I continue to explore the 101 ways to hit your head on a boat and had an opportunity to branch out mid-watch with - how many ways to smack your knee on a boat, as I slipped on the step with the ship bouncing about in the surging waves and caught the top of the life ring with my knee. I had to pause to rub it vigorously and to catch my breath before continuing with the task at hand, which was tightening the spritsails. I did a stint on bow watch (three times perhaps?) and got left there for 90 minutes that was broken up by some further working of braces etc but in the ensuing activity, we were forgotten and left at the bows, and the stern watcher likewise.
Actually on our watch earlier in the afternoon (12.30-16hr) we had been up in the bows and it wasn’t until the first dog watch that they moved the bow lookouts further back to the quarterdeck. The wind and spray had picked up significantly during the afternoon and while I had contemplated climbing the mizzen at 4.00 when off duty with a friend of mine, we thought better of it with all the pitching and rolling the ship was doing. Oh and we got caught a few times by bow waves while on duty and got a little wet. The sun and wind dried us off quickly.
The evening’s excitement took place shortly after 21hr once it was dark. The ship’s alarm went off and went on long enough that a few of the crew moved to muster stations. The engines were over-heating and after a short scurrying about the alarm was turned off and the captain announced over the loud speaker to alert everyone to the situation. The engines were turned off and we began to turn 90 degrees to the port to face the coast of Australia. About 15 minutes later we were underway again and every 30 minutes had to check on the exhaust for a change in smell or a rise in temp around the flashing.
The 4 hours on watch seemed to go by very slowly tonight. The officer of our watch is the 3rd mate on this leg of the trip, who is filling in for the regular 3rd. From here she will be going to PNG to do Bible translation work there. Turns out she is the daughter of a Lutheran pastor. Lutherans in Australia having arrived there from Germany.
Now at this point, I’m losing track of the day on which we watched what, as “this morning” can be 24-04hr time slot and feel like the middle of last night rather than earlier this morning. So all bets are off re time and date and I’ll just have to describe “recent events.”
The meals on board have been fabulous. Over the 7 days we’ve been treated to home made soups, roast pork, lamb chops, steak, grilled snapper, salads, delicious desserts and tasty afternoon snacks at tea time, fresh fruit, and substantial breakfasts. The meals are served on the 20th c deck. A member of each watch assists with galley duty at each meal. Mercifully I was number 1 on the foremast watch so I got to deal with dinner on the first night when we were at anchor, and then lunch on the 5th day once everyone was well past their queasiness of sea sickness.
The steward was a young woman who helped with odd jobs about the place. One of those jobs was taking photos of daily activities and then posting the blog from the ship each evening. You can still find the blog online if you search for HMB Endeavour.
We had the 08-12.30hr watch yesterday (Jan 10) and theoretically had sleep between midnight and 7.30, but alas no. The ship was rolling so much going under engine power that there were leaks dripping on many of us and my hammock was slung too low so instead of rocking with S. in the next hammock we would collide every so often. Our poor topman, A, had 3 distinct drip sites in her berth at her head, knees and feet that kept her up all night.
Sunny with clear blue skies and when we got up on deck we learned that we’d missed seeing the Leeuwin, which had approached at sunrise and sailed past us – just to show off that she was under sail while we had to be under engines.
Breakfast today was listed as Canadian Breakfast. Pancake bacon and maple syrup. The combo of the latter two I learned was just as puzzling to Aussies as Vegemite is to Canucks.
An uneventful watch except that we raised the forward staysail and then furled it again about 90 minutes later. Big waves and sea spray splashing over the decks today so the lecture on sails took place on the quarter deck instead of midships where the morning talk is usually held. We learned how to use a sextant at yesterday’s lecture and I tried my hand at "shooting the sun."
In the afternoon a bunch of us from the foremast watch decided we’d climb up the foremast (photos above). The sea was plunging us about a fair bit on deck and that gets magnified as one heads up the ratlines and over the futtock shrouds. I must admit that from the deck that looks intimidating but once up there it doesn’t seem so bad mainly because they meet at an angle. It’s not like going straight up and then leaning backwards. It’s much easier once up there.
I can’t begin to guess how many hours I’ve actually slept but it is not a lot. The first night I described as sufficient but interrupted. Second night was chilly and shivery and filled with the sounds of people being sick into buckets. Another night was wakefulness interrupted by periods of sleep. Last night I’d describe it as the worst yet and I can only imagine I got a couple of hours prior to midnight (though not in a row) and a couple of hours after midnight. Just as well that I got woken at 3.30 as I was having a string of weird dreams that were mostly variations on a theme of not sleeping at all. Pretty bad when you start dreaming of not being able to sleep. But this does not seem to slow me down. The thrill of being on board keeps me going and I haven’t had a snooze mid day yet.
The colours of the water are quite incredible to see. Closer to the coast it was shades of turquoise, aqua, light green, and deep blue. Further out at sea it was a beautiful cobalt blue and at night the sea’s surface reflected the silvery light of the moon.
Our morning watch began at 04hr where we could still see well by moonlight and enjoy the gradual lighting of the sky. At one point one could look forward and see dawn breaking and then look aft and see dark night sky and the moon still up. The sun rose right over our bows (see photo above) and we set the fore staysail (again) and the air began to warm gradually. I’d managed missing the safety check for 2 or 3 days (though not intentionally) and got a chance to do it twice while on watch this morning. Likewise I haven’t felt very confident on helm when under motor power (it's easier under sail) so have avoided that too but thought I should give it a try. I was on 1 hour last night in the dark and then the last hour of the watch this morning. Much easier by daylight and reckoning with the sun’s location rather than by using the compass only in the twilight before moon or stars emerge.
One particular enduring image is from a few nights ago while we were still under sail. The ship was heeling over to port quite sharply and all 5 people at the helm, 2 helmsmen, topman, yardie and officer were all canted over to the right. The first 2 had the benefit of the wheel to hang on to but the other three with several years of sailing experience, could stand calmly leaning well over to the right, with hands folded behind their backs and not lose their balance.
Jan 11 fairly quiet day, under motor. Did some sorting and tidying of the locker in preparation for packing. Got out the binoculars later and during the morning briefing I spotted a wee bird up on the main course yard arm. A land bird that had been blown out to sea. He stayed with us all day recovering. Breakfast was unique, hash browns, tinned spaghetti on toast, steak, mushrooms, & fruit slices. Very welcome it was too having just come off the 04-08hr watch.
In the afternoon I tried for a snooze for the first time as the lack of sleep catches up. We were on for the 1st dog watch, had dinner and seemed to scramble to get to bed by 7.00 (roast pork, garlic roast potatoes, pumpkin, beans, salads and lime coconut cheese cake).
We were all quite awake so had some hilarious moments getting into our hammocks and then passing around E’s camera to take photos of us in our hammocks.
Tonight S. and I finally got the right way to sling our hammocks worked out. One night we were on the off –roll and kept banging into one another, the next the canvas rubbed annoyingly together and finally on our last night the key was obviously to sling them right beside one another. I slept very soundly, finally. We were woken at 11.30 for our last watch together and man did the night drag on. I ended up sitting on the stern for 2 hours (not a bad thing) as I kept J. company, then I sat there on watch to replace him, then kept Jd company when he was replacing me, then went back on watch right after that. Also did one stint on the bow watch and one stint on the safety check. While on safety check, M. and I paused for a peanut butter and honey sandwich in the galley. Simply spent the last 30 minutes as an idler and 4 of us gravitated to the hot air vent (the 1st time we’ve needed to on watch) just to keep the chill off). Could see the Southern Cross, Scorpio and Orion (albeit upside-down)
The final day was terrific. We were within sight of the land and passed some very picturesque coast. The captain decided that a bit of sail would be in order to make a good display going into the harbour. So on my last morning, I got up the foremast three times. Once to set the foretopsail and twice more to furl the foretopsail and then the fore course. Awesome! It was absolutely fabulous climbing the shrouds and out onto the yards. The safety harness is nice, but really two hands and a certain amount of fear are very reliable! Great view, once aloft, of the sailing boats that were escorting us in and formed a small flotilla behind us.
The cannon was fired as we entered the harbour. It’s a blank charge but has three scrunched up bundles of 4 pages of newspapers inserted into the barrel. The result is a flash, a boom, a cloud of smoke and a pile of confetti that shoots out the muzzle. The whole crew was gathered together to receive a certificate and a map of the route we’d taken.
The final statistics for this voyage are: Total Nautical Miles – 548 nautical miles. Under Sail- 166NM, Under Motor- 382NM. Furthest out from the coast – 100 nautical miles. We took some group shots of our foremast watch team gathered around the helm then brought up our bags from below and headed ashore, with plans to rendezvous later for dinner after we’d all had a chance to have a shower and change. Not that we have any clean clothes left.
An amazing trip and a dream of a lifetime accomplished!